We assume everyone is born with the natural ability to notice, claim and make PURPOSEFUL use of AGENCY (主体性). The reality is more nuanced. AGENCY is a capacity requiring attention and cultivation.
AGENCY is both personal and social, spontaneous and planned, internal and external, psychological and environmental…
AGENCY does not require complete autonomy as a pre-condition, but it can enhance the experience of both AUTONOMY and CONNECTION.
AGENCY is not about controlling everything or everyone. Rather, it’s about noticing and making appropriate use of your capacity to nudge yourself and others in a direction you have chosen, and continuing to remember to do so in the face of a limitless number of obstacles and shiny objects that can subvert your intentions.
Asserting AGENCY does not entail resisting others or the undesirable aspects of yourself so much as noticing and working with others and the complex processes that emerge within you as you become a self.
AGENCY is more fundamental than grit, grind or the growth mindset. AGENCY and PURPOSE are the multipliers of grit, grind and growth.
When we help each other develop the capacity for AGENCY we are building a foundation upon which we can each establish standards that enable us to uncover and prioritize PURPOSES worth pursuing, GROWTH and CONNECTIONS worth investing in, and CONTRIBUTIONS and impact worth making. Discovery and cultivation of AGENCY are the first steps toward the creation of MEANING.
AGENCY is an essential element of the foundation upon which both a good life and a good society are built.
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Agency (主体性) + Purpose (志) + Growth (成長) + Connection (繋がり) + Contribution (貢献) = Meaning (意義)
In the space between you and me awaits all that will ever be.
人と人の間に全てのもと
Here is a link to a TED Radio Hour episode focused on various aspects of agency:
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/23/nx-s1-5685074/what-can-you-control-in-this-chaotic-world
© Dana Cogan, 2026, all rights reserved.